Highway marker



Sept. 16, 1958 w. D. WEEKS HIGHWAY MARKER Filed June 8, 1953 UnitedStates Patent HIGHWAY MARKER Warren Dan Weeks, Kalamazoo, Mich.,assignor to Root Spring Scraper Co., Kalamazoo, Mich., a corporation ofMichigan Application June 8, 1953, Serial No. 360,313

3 Claims. (Cl. 94--1.5)

times accomplished by painting strips of white or othercolored paintupon the highway to outline trafiic lanes. Although this method ofmarking is used widely it has certain disadvantages, one of the chiefones being that a vehicle can be driven over the painted strip at willby a careless driver or inadvertently by a careful driver without hisbeing aware that he is outside his proper lane. Such a system of markinghighways can become extremely dangerous when the paint is allowed tobecome worn away or at night and in stormy weather when visibility ispoor and the paint is not readily visible.

T o overome this situation various devices have been proposed andemployed to some extent either to prevent a driver from driving out ofhis proper lane or to give him positive warning when his vehicle leaveshis proper lane. Such devices include roughened sections of the highwaysurface between the lanes, raised sections between the lanes, and thelike. These have generally been designed either to prevent positivelythe wheels of a vehicle leaving the lane in which it is proceeding or toat least warn the driver, e. g. by reason of the roughness of thedividing section, that he is out of his proper lane and thus to enablehim to correct the situation immediately. It is apparent that any suchdevice which presents a positive barrier to the passage of the wheels ofa vehicle over it, or which is even unduly rough, can be extremelyhazardous, especially when used in sections of highway where high-speeddriving is permitted.

sufiiciently rigid or rough to cause damage to, or lack of control of, avehicle when it becomes necessary through emergency or by deliberatechoice for the driver to leave one lane and proceed in another. Themarking device should, of course, itself be uninjured by vehiclescrossing and should be sturdy, weather resistant and have an extendeduseful life.

It has now been found, and is herein first disclosed, that these andrelated objects can be accomplished readily and economically byproviding a highway marker of soft, resilient material of the characterand form hereinafter described which is capable of being anchored firmlyto a concrete or other hard highway surface.

The invention can be readily understood by reference to the accompanyingdrawing wherein, in the interest Z of clarity, certain features areshown on a somewhat exaggerated scale, and wherein:

Figure 1 is an oblique view of a highway marker of the invention showingdetails of one end thereof.

Figure 2 is an oblique partial view of a highway marker of the inventionshowing details of the opposite end from that shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a sectional elevation taken along the line IIIIII of Figure1 and showing one method for anchoring the highway marker to a highwaysurface.

Figure 4 is a sectional elevation taken along the line IV-IV of Figure1.

Referring to Figure 1, there is shown a highway marker denoted generallyby the numeral 11 consisting of an elongated body having a top panel 12,an end wall panel 13 and a side wall panel 14. The other end wall panel16 and the other side wall panel 15, which are not visible in Figure 1,are shown in Figure 2 which is a view similar to Figure 1 except that itshows the other end of the highway marker of Figure 1 and certainparticular details thereof which will be described.

The highway marker is generally constructed so that the end wall panels13 and 16 are substantially vertical when the marker is positioned on ahighway surface, the top panel 12 being substantially horizontal and thetwo side wall panels 14 and 15 being inclined downward away from oneanother from the edges of the top panel 12. The end wall panels 13 and16 thus have approximately the shape of isosceles trapezoids with thelonger of the parallel sides being the lower side, and the shorter ofthe parallel sides being the upper side and having a length the same asthe width of the top panel 12. The highway marker is hollow except forthe provision of a longitudinal web which will be described later. Themarker is generally constructed without a bottom panel since this is notnecessary.

On one end wall panel 13 of the highway marker there is secured aprojecting tongue, 17 of Figure 1, which is generally formed integralwith the end panel. The tongue 17 is generally formed near the center ofthe bottom edge of the end panel so that when the marker is placed fiaton a highway surface the tongue lies flat on the highway surface. In theopposite end wall panel 16 of the highway marker there is formed arecess, 18 of Figure 8, of a size to accommodate the tongue 17 of anadjacent highway marker when 'the two highway markers are placed in endto end contact. Thus, when several of the markers are positioned along ahighway surface, the combination of the projecting tongues 17 and therecesses 18 into which the tongues project serves effectively to keepthe several markers in line with one another and to insure smoothfitting joints between them. The recess 18 is generally formed with atop member, 27 of Figure 4, two side members 26 and one end member 25and is open at the bottom and at the end through which the projectingtongue enters. These members are conveniently formed int-- gral with theend wall panel 16. Alternatively the recess 18 can consist simply of aproperly shaped aperture in the end wall 16, the provision of end wall,side wall and top members 25, 26 and 27 being omitted.

The highway marker is, as mentioned previously, provided with a web, 21of Figure 3, positioned longitudinally and vertically therein andlocated approximately centrally between the side wall panels 14 and 15.The web 21 can conveniently be formed integral along its top with thetop panel 12 and along its ends with the end wall panels 13 and 16,respectively. The Web 21 is unsecured along its bottom edge. The Web 21,the end wall panels 13 and 16 and the side wall panels 14 and 15 areformed with their lower edges co-planar so that when the marker isplaced on a level surface the lower edges of all of these memberscontact the level surface. In the preferred modification, the tongue 17and the side and end members 26 and defining the recess 18 are alsolocated so that their lower edges are co-planar with the web 21 and theend wall and side wall panels 13, 16, 14 and 15.

The web 21 serves to brace and strengthen the highway marker somewhatand also furnishes a ready means for securing the highway marker to ahighway surface. To accomplish the latter purpose, the web 21 can beprovided at suitable intervals with suitable bores 22 extendingvertically through it and through the top wall panel 12. Each bore is ofsubstantially uniform diameter for the major portion of its depth but isconstricted at its lower end to form a smaller bore 23 and to provide atthe point of constriction a circular shoulder 24, shown clearly inFigure 4. The diameters of the two sections of the bore are 'such that,when an anchoring pin or bolt of suitable size, of Figure 3, having anenlarged head is dropped into the bore, its shank projects through thesmaller section 23 of the bore while its head is retained by theshoulder 24. In use a suitable hole can be drilled in the highwaysurface, a nut 31 can, if desired, be run part way up on the protrudingthreaded shank of the pin 30 to assist in anchoring the pin to thehighway, and

the marker then placed on the highway surface in such a position thatthe pin projects into the hole in the highway which has meanwhile beenfilled with freshly mixed cement. Upon tapping the head of the anchorpin, e. g. with a rod, inserted through the enlarged section 22 of thebore, the head of the pin is seated on the shoulder 24, the pin isdriven into the soft cement and the latter caused to settle around thelower end of the pin and the nut 31. Upon allowing the cement to harden,the highway marker is anchored firmly and securely to the highwaysurface by the pin head bearing on the shoulder 24-.

Alternatively, the anchor pin 30 can first be set in concrete at theproper location with its threaded end projecting from the highwaysurface and the highway marker then positioned over it so that thethreaded end projects through the narrow section 23 of the bore into thewider section 22. By means of a proper wrench a nut can then be loweredinto the bore 22 to engage the threaded shank of the pin and turned downtightly against the shoulder 24. It is apparent that other means canalso be employed for anchoring the web 21 along its bottom edge to thehighway surface. In the case of bituminous highway surfaces it is oftensuitable to employ spikes which are simply inserted from the top intothe bore 22 and driven into the highway.

The highway marker described can be constructed in sections of anysuitable length and of any suitable crosssectional dimensions. Aconvenient size comprises a marker having a top width of approximatelyone foot, a bottom width of approximately 1.5 to 2 feet, a height ofabout 10 inches and wall and top sections about one inch thick. In onesuitable model the sloping side wall panels are inclined at an angle ofabout 30 degrees from the vertical position. Sections 8 to 12 feet long,or longer, can be made and handled readily. For use along straightsections of highway provision for an anchor pin every 3 to 6 feet isgenerally found suflicient although for use on sharp curves a closerspacing of anchor pins may sometimes be desirable. Each entire sectionof the highway marker can be molded from rubber or a suitable syntheticresin in one operation and with great dimensional accuracy. Colored orphosphorescent pigments can be included in the material from which thesections are made to give the highway marker a distinctive appearance orto make it easily visible at night and during stormy weather.

The highway marker with which the invention is concerned is constructedof a resilient, flexible material, such as rubber or a synthetic resinhaving rubber-like properties. When constructed of such material, thehighway marker can be run over on the highway, e. g. in case of anemergency or in case a driver finds it desirable to cross over intoanother lane, without injury to the marker itself which simply flattensout under the impact of the vehicle wheel and then resumes its normalposition when the wheel has passed. At the same time, it offerssufiicient resistance to the passage of the wheel to warn the driverthat he is out of his proper lane but does not offer so much resistanceas to cause difl'lculty in steering the vehicle or to in any way causethe driver to lose control of his vehicle even at high speeds. Thehighway marker described presents a bulky appearance on the highway andthis is of great psychological'value in influencing a driver to stayclear of the marker except in cases of emergency or at low speeds.

The highway marker is also useful in locations where high speed is notgenerally a factor to be considered. Such locations include theapproaches to intersections, safety islands for pedestrians and thelike.

I claim: 7

l. A highway marker adapted to be anchored to a highway surfaceincluding an elongated shell of flexible, resilient material havingvertical end wall panels, a horizontal top panel and side wall panelsinclined downwardly away from one another from along the edges of thetop panel; a web of flexible material extending centrally of the shellbetween the end wall panels secured to the end wall panels'and to thetop panel, the lower edges of the web, the end wall panels and the sidewall panels being substantially co-planar; a projecting tongue integralwith one of the end wall panels having its lower surface coplanar withthe lower edge of the end wall panel and an open bottom socket integralwith the other end wall panel adapted to receive the projecting tongueof an adjoining marker when two of the markers are in end to end contactwith one another; and a hole in the web adapted to cooperate with meansfor anchoring the lower edge of the web to a highway surface.

2. A highway marker including: an elongated hollow shell of flexible,resilient material open at the bottom having top, end wall and side wallpanels, each end wall panel being in substantially the form of anisosceles trapezoid with its upper shorter parallel side joining an endof the top panel; a longitudinal web extending centrally through thebody integral along its top with the top panel and along each of itsends with an end wall panel, the lower edges of the web and of the endand side wall panels being substantially co-planar; a bore extendingperpendicularly through the top panel and the web to accommodate ananchoring pin, the bore being constricted near its lower end to providea shoulder adapted to bear against the head of an anchor pin insertedshank first into the top end of the bore; a projecting tongue integralwith one end wall panel having its lower surface coplanar with 'thelower edge of the panel and a recess with an open bottom formed in theother end wall panel to receive the projecting tongue of an adjoiningmarker when the two markers are placed in end to end contact the entiremarker being of lightweight construction whereby, when it is secured toa flat rigid road surface and run over by a vehicle wheel, it flattenseasily and presents a nondangerous obstruction to the wheel and beingsufliciently resilient to cause it to resume its original unfiattenedform upon disengagement of the wheel from it.

3. A laned highway including: a highway having a hard surface and atleast a pair of adjoining traffic lanes; and a multi-section highwaymark-er extending along the highway surface between the pair ofadjoining lanes, each sectionof the highway marker comprising anelongated hollow shell of flexible, resilient material open at thebottom having a substantially horizontal top panel, a pair ofsubstantially vertical end wall panels, a pair of side wall panelssloping downwardly away from one an other from along the edges of thetop panel, a tongue projecting longitudinally of the section from oneend wall References Cited in the file of this patent panel having itslower surface coplanar with the lower UNITED STATES PATENTS edge of thepanel and a recess with an open bottom in the other end wall paneladapted to receive the projecting 1,661,242 Tmxal 1928 tongue of anadjoining section, a longitudinal substantially 5 1,778,927 Wnght 1930vertical web centrally located between the two side wall 1,922,462Tranchen 1933 panels secured along its upper edge to the top panel andFOR I N PA along each of its ends to an end wall panel, the lower 551,571 Great Bntam Mar. 1, 1943 edges of the side wall and end wallpanels and of the 148,607 Australia Oct 13, 1952 web being substantiallyco-planar, and means anchoring 10 the lower edge of the web to thehighway surface.

